Explained: Why Verstappen accused Ferrari team of “cheating”

Ferrari’s dramatic loss of pace during the United States Grand Prix weekend increased speculation around what might be behind its straightline speed advantage in the 2019 Formula 1 season.

Its rivals suspect a technical directive clarification from the FIA about the cars’ fuel-flow meters could have thwarted a trick Ferrari had come up with, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen went as far as saying Ferrari’s drop in pace at Austin was “what happens when you stop cheating”.

With no firm evidence to analyse, and Ferrari claiming those accusations are “completely wrong”, Edd Straw and Scott Mitchell assess how the situation has moved on now weeks of debate behind the scenes is finally evolving into some finger-pointing in public.